Your Gifts Make a Difference

A Glimpse of COLFA 2010-2011

Welcome to another edition of Ovations, highlighting the outstanding
achievements of students, faculty and supporters of the UTSA College of
Liberal and Fine Arts.

Aspirations

Out of the tens of thousands of words in this issue of Ovations, that one word, aspirations, jumped
out at me—twice, from seemingly disparate articles—when I read the stories in this issue. The
first instance was in an article about senior lecturer and athletic bands director Ron Ellis, who,
in trying to describe the magical moment when a university band marches onto the field, characterized
the musicians as representing “all the hopes and aspirations” of everyone at that university.

The second instance was in a very different story, a Q&A with Political Science and Geography
Department Chair Mansour El-Kikhia about his recent return to his home country of Libya after 30
years in exile. When asked about Muammar Gaddafi’s fate, El-Kikhia bluntly expresses his contempt for
the regime that “destroyed the aspirations and dreams of so many people.”

With one word, aspirations, we are transported spiritually to a jubilant, fan-filled sports stadium and
then asked to ponder a conflict-ravaged country on the other side of the globe. The common thread bridging
the two realms is embedded in the human condition and our constant search for a sense of place and
purpose, and also an understanding of our world.

UTSA does an outstanding job of preparing students to enter an array of professions; our students
leave ready to enter careers as architects, engineers, economists, physicists, teachers, and many others.
But it is the College of Liberal and Fine Arts that best represents our aspirations for our students and
their ability to positively impact our world. Through the study of history, philosophy, literature, the arts
and other disciplines, COLFA majors and non-majors alike develop the critical thinking and analytical
skills—and the deeper understanding of what it means to be human—that will serve them for the rest
of their lives no matter what profession they enter.

I appreciate Dean Dan Gelo’s invitation to write the welcome message for this issue of Ovations
(and the special leap of faith it took to entrust a theoretical chemist to perform this task). I also want
to thank you, the readers, for your stalwart support of the College of Liberal and Fine Arts and its efforts
to provide the core intellectual experience that is preparing all UTSA students for their role as responsible
citizens of this world.

In short, I thank you for sharing the aspirations of all of us at UTSA.